January 14 2004, 15:48 APK-Inform

Agrarian Marketing Project launches grant programme for farmers

The Agrarian Marketing Project, run jointly by American Land O'Lakes Inc. and APK-Inform Agribusiness Information Company, is starting a programme of grants to be distributed to associations and cooperatives of agricultural producers in Lvov, Zakarpatye, Cherkassy, Poltava, Odessa Oblasts and the AR of Crimea, aimed at increase of earnings of farming SME through joint marketing activities. The grant programme will be limited to the sum, equivalent to $25,000, and will be organised on a parity basis, i.e. the grant recipient must invest into the programme the sum of its own funds, equal to the size of the grant they received. The proposals, containing financial accounts of the planned funds distribution, will be more likely to become the winners.

The grant programme is a supplementary one for basic activity of the Agrarian Marketing Project. This includes provision of technical assistance to the Project's clients in the fields of production, processing and sales of the products, provision of reliable market information, creation of farming associations, etc.

Farming associations and cooperatives from the Project's operating regions are invited to participate in competition for the grants. The proposals are welcomed, directed on improvement of quality standards, sorting and packaging, storage and transportation of agricultural products and other activities, related to production and sales of the products, which will be encouraging development of efficient sales markets for producers, increase of the earnings from sales of their products.

The more detailed information about the Agrarian Marketing Project and the grants programme is available in Ukrainian and Russian languages on www.lol.org.ua.